With the pandemic having thrown barriers in every sector, businesses are having to adapt and change to accommodate the new way of working. Increasing numbers of staff are now working from home and if not properly addressed, HR teams can struggle with managing employees remotely.
One of the best ways businesses are overcoming this hurdle is with HRIS software. Without the use of HRIS for small businesses and larger organisations, even the most accomplished HR departments can witness a poor performance from within themselves and even the broader workforce. HR are facing some of their biggest challenges to date and are having to be flexible to accommodate the almost daily changes in the sector.
While there is a myriad of benefits for using human resource information software, we take a look at the top 5 benefits that are helping businesses throughout the benefits run smoothly and efficiently.
Provide Employee Self-Service
On any given day, HR departments will be inundated with phone calls and emails from colleagues within the organisation for numerous reasons.
This could be requested a breakdown of how much annual leave they have left, previous payslips that have been lost, the need to update their contact details and more.
While these are seemingly easy requests, they can become time-consuming and cause HR staff to fall behind on other, more meaningful tasks.
Implementing information software for human resources doesn’t just give the HR teams access to the platform, every member of the business will have their own self-service portal.
On this, they can have access to all the information they need regarding pay and annual leave and can update their own details as and when needed. This is especially beneficial while so many are working remotely who may find it harder to get in touch with the HR teams.
Improve Internal Communication
Video conferencing is becoming increasingly popular during the pandemic to help colleagues keep in touch and maintain as much normality as possible.
However, it isn’t always the best platform, poor connections, lagging and other technical issues can lead to information being missed.
It also doesn’t provide the best means for relaying vital data and large amounts of information.
While emails have been serving this for many years, they still come with their issues. Inboxes are increasingly busier nowadays and messages can be missed or even purposely ignored.
HRIS systems use their own internal communication platforms where the sender can track those who have opened a message and chase those who have not.
For imperative information, especially when it comes to new essential procedures to remain compliant with regulations, the option to ask recipients to tick and agree they have read and understood these messages provides peace of mind to managers and HR staff that everyone has been informed appropriately.
Flexible Access
Depending on where businesses are located, some are not able to welcome staff back into the office, even if it is sporadically. However, the next announcement from governments can quickly change this.
Staff may find themselves suddenly back at home and perhaps without the right device or paperwork.
As HRIS systems operate on the cloud, staff can access these portals from any device in any location. This means that even without their work computer, they can access everything they need to on the HR portal.
This also increases security for digital paperwork, as information is stored on external servers, there are no risks to files being lost or accidentally deleted.
Holiday Management
Despite the unlikelihood of being able to travel abroad, staff still need to be able to take their full allocated holiday during the pandemic to prevent overworking and mental fatigue.
HR software allows staff to request their annual leave at the click of a button, at any time that suits them. This is then transferred to managers for approval who can be provided a clear view of current holiday rotas.
Clashes within teams who are requesting the same days off are quickly apparent and this allows managers to work with staff to create a solution and prevent understaffing within these teams.
Understaffing can be detrimental at the best of times and the added stress to staff who may already be feeling the strain of the pandemic needs to be avoided as much as possible.
These systems can also be used to track sickness, bereavement days and any other reason for a colleague to not be working. Integrating this system with current HR programmes in the office means that payroll and other records can be updated automatically.
HR systems have been benefiting businesses for many years before remote working became the norm but now these organisations are seeing the true potential and worth of this software.
Businesses can have packages tailored to suit specific needs and budgets, while also working with developers to ensure seamless integration with current systems and software.
